3rd time the charm still hopeful

rlridings
rlridings Member Posts: 42
i had surgery for the third liver resection on April 19 at MD Anderson in Houston which was hopefully going to get the last of the liver tumors - but doc had to "close me up" since he found that lymph nodes right next to the tumor were cancerous - they were so small that they would not show up on any scans - he didnt take them out because he said we needed to treat it "systemically" - as it turns out the lymph nodes, which he "marked", are so close to the tumor that the radiologists tell me that they can take out the tumor at the same time that they are taking out the lymph nodes - one more bump in the road

Comments

  • Sundanceh
    Sundanceh Member Posts: 4,392 Member
    RR
    I'm stymied as to why they did not take them out anyway - why go systemic when we can take the direct route.

    It seems as if the surgeons 'see anything else', they just wrap it up...even if cancer were to come back, why not cut it out and take our chances?

    I'm glad you have made it through the surgery, R...sending healing wishes for your recovery...as you say, we'll all await the next step.

    If you are ever considering another opinion, point your car North and head up I-45 about 260 miles...we're the "MD" in North Texas:)

    Thanks for your update.
  • steveandnat
    steveandnat Member Posts: 886
    get well soon
    Hopefully everything will be under control this crazy cancer just has a mind of its own. Get well soon. Jeff
  • janie1
    janie1 Member Posts: 753 Member

    get well soon
    Hopefully everything will be under control this crazy cancer just has a mind of its own. Get well soon. Jeff

    yup - stay hopeful alright
    But I'm curious too.
    What is the rationale for not doing the resection and taking out the nearby lymph nodes when they were looking right at it?
    Is the thinking that it would spread? Seems like not much different when doing a colon resection and taking a bunch of lymph nodes.
    Hmmmm. Educate us, please.
    Hang in there though. You've done this before. Let's get to NED.
    ******* Tell MDA they need to get going with those trials using radiofrequency (Kanzius machine). The new machine that will allow them to test on humans was shipped to MDA in January. Dr. Curley is in charge.
    Also, the CEO of MDA had been on 60 minutes (or Dateline), several months ago and said if a cure for cancer isn't found during his tenure there, then he will view his leadership as a failure.
    Now, that's a pretty bold statement. Hope this really does happen.....and hope the FDA doesn't allow this to drag out.
    Everytime I hear about MDA, I think about the technology that may cause cancer some serious damage.
    Wouldn't that be great!!
  • thxmiker
    thxmiker Member Posts: 1,278 Member
    Second Opinon
    Get a second opinion and possibly a more proactive team. If the surgeon went in to do a liver resection what is the big deal about a lymph node? I would want more answers before letting this team do a surgery on me again.

    Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
    Best Always, mike
  • rlridings
    rlridings Member Posts: 42
    janie1 said:

    yup - stay hopeful alright
    But I'm curious too.
    What is the rationale for not doing the resection and taking out the nearby lymph nodes when they were looking right at it?
    Is the thinking that it would spread? Seems like not much different when doing a colon resection and taking a bunch of lymph nodes.
    Hmmmm. Educate us, please.
    Hang in there though. You've done this before. Let's get to NED.
    ******* Tell MDA they need to get going with those trials using radiofrequency (Kanzius machine). The new machine that will allow them to test on humans was shipped to MDA in January. Dr. Curley is in charge.
    Also, the CEO of MDA had been on 60 minutes (or Dateline), several months ago and said if a cure for cancer isn't found during his tenure there, then he will view his leadership as a failure.
    Now, that's a pretty bold statement. Hope this really does happen.....and hope the FDA doesn't allow this to drag out.
    Everytime I hear about MDA, I think about the technology that may cause cancer some serious damage.
    Wouldn't that be great!!

    still hopeful
    Janie - that is amazing to hear - I have understood that Dr Curley who is my surgeon was working on that project - re: why they didn't take out the tumor I can't say other than the statement we have to treat this systemically meaning chemo and radiation